1. Success is not given
YOU MUST WORK FOR IT!!
TAMMY BONSER
KAPLAN UNIVERSITY ALUMNI 2014

2. My Story
Kaplan Involved
 Started school with Kaplan in August
2012
 Never used an online school before
 Never heard of APA formatting
 WHAT DID I GET MYSELF IN TO?
Real World Scenario
 Worked part time at a school in the
lunch room
 Mom and wife of three children
 No idea where I was going with this
degree but determined to be a better
supervisor than I had previously in
medical offices

3. Transitions
What were my Successes?
 Excellent grades including
participation in all but ONE seminar
during my school career
 Became a successful scholarly writer
of term papers
 Created friendships that are still in
existence
 Ability to see through the eyes of
both the supervisor and the
supervised
Who Assisted in Reaching my
Goals each Term?
 Professors
 Family
 Church family
 Friends

4. How Did I Get the First Supervisory
Position After Graduation???
Steps to Success
 1. Changed jobs and got into a
company I knew that it would be
something I could enjoy
 2. Upon interviewing, I was WILLING
to start at the bottom but let my
potential employer I wanted to
advance
 3. Showed organization and NEVER
said no to more shifts. It showed I
was available
 4. Kept in touch with supervisors and
human resources
Responsibilities
 I was a home care aide doing the third
shift with a dementia patient, keeping
her safe, doing her nails, changing her
diapers, assisting in feeding and
cleaning her room
 Needed to stay awake all night
 Make a good relationship with the
family

5. THEN IT HAPPENED 6 MONTHS
LATER…..
What I was Doing
 Still working with the same client but
added another
 Working 44 hours a week
 Handing in paperwork on time EACH
week
 Staying in touch with my supervisor as
well as her supervisor
What Exactly Happened??
 Since I let the supervisor know I was
interested in advancement, an
opening for assistant manager
became available, she IMMEDIATELY
thought of me
 I came in for an interview with her and
district manager
 During the interview process, she
mentioned “wow, you’d be great at
my job!”
 When I found out the pay of assistant,
I was prepared to turn it down due to
cost of transportation

6. A HUGE SURPRISE!!
The evening of the interview, it was a later and it was the
district manager of the company
After my interview, my supervisor, gave her two weeks
notice with the stipulation, I would get the job
I WAS SHOCKED BUT QUICKLY ACCEPTED!!

7. NEW RESPONSIBILITIES AND OH THE
PERKS!!
Responsibilities/Perks
 Company car to drive to and from TWO
offices in two different counties serving
150 clients and 150 home care aides
 Quarterly bonuses if population of
offices are maintained
 Company Cell Phone
 Company IPAD
 Hiring/Firing New Aides
 Payroll
 Training of employees
 Assisting in Keeping Clients Safe from
Harm via the county or state
How Kaplan Helped!!
 Taught respect of company policies,
procedures and organizational perks
 Organization of client and employee
databases
 What is allowed to be asked
(confidentiality)
 HIPPA training

8. THE BOTTOM LINE
 In every organization you have to start somewhere and being willing to start at the
bottom not only shows that you’re flexible but in the company for the long run
 Don’t EXPECT to make huge amounts of money right away. We have a great
degree but you need to work your way up